Sweet Meds

I'm out and around here lately, and while doing some grocery shopping, I run across some Sugar Cubes, and it reminds me of how Immunizations were administered to young people way back when, especially the Polio Vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk. Before the polio vaccine was even conceived, many schools had to close due to Polio going around. In many cases, if you had a severe case of polio, you were in an Iron Lung (this article from 2018 is one of the last)  In the mid-1950s, many baby boomers and people born during World War II  remember being given the vaccine on a sugar cube by their local Health Department and the nurse at their schools. Here in Detroit, the Health Department gave the vaccine to all children depending on which school they attended. Families went to either a Detroit High School or a branch of the Health Department to get their vaccines. With all going on nowadays about many people not vaccinating their children, it seems like many diseases, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and other communicable diseases thought to be eradicated are now making a comeback. I remember when I was in middle and high school in the mid-1990s to early 2000s, many of my classmates were put out of school until their immunizations and/or Tetanus shots were up to date.

Memorial Day Travels

Yesterday, I took a road trip to Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio for a respite and time to relax, since I have some time off from work, and my father is doing a bit better and is being cared for.  I visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and also went to see my first National League baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates (Don't get to see the National League very often, as my team, the Detroit Tigers, are in the American League). Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure,

The Louisville Slugger museum is located on Main Street in downtown Louisville. I remembered to bring my Ballpark Passport with me, as there is a page in the leather bound book for it. The giant bat can be seen from I71 as you are coming in.  

The black tiles are of all the MLB Hall of Famers who used Louisville Slugger bats during their careers,  Over 8,000 names are listed on the wall overall. 

The hallway leading to the ticket windows and other areas of the museum is line with logos for many Major League teams. 

There are life sized statues of baseball players who used Louisville Sluggers, such as Jackie Robinson (shown here), Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Derek Jeter. 

This is the actual "Notched Bat" that Babe Ruth used in 1927 to hit 21 of his 60 home runs. 

Here are the 2014 Silver Slugger awards that are presented annually. Also included in this case are the Living Legend award, given out since 2007

The Ivy covered wall of the museum reminds me of Wrigley Field in Chicago, 

I arrived in Cincinnati about 1:30 PM after experiencing some traffic and parking issues on my way in. As I walked to Great American Ball Park, I encountered this Ferris wheel, and thought of the Millennium Wheel at Navy Pier in Chicago. 

 When I got to Great American Ball Park, I was enamored about the statues around the outside of the park, especially this one of the legendary Pete Rose, known as Charlie Hustle for his work ethic. Many people have opinions on whether he should be in the Hall of Fame. 

Great American Ball Park opened in 2003, and is a really spacious stadium. I enjoy the sightlines from wherever you are seated. 

There is a Big Boy at Great American Ball Park, and I reflected on when Comerica Park in Detroit had a Big Boy restaurant (it is currently a craft beer stand). 

These gentlemen are dressed in the old Cincinnati Red Stockings uniforms of 1869. This year is the 150th anniversary for the Reds and for Major League Baseball. 

As I told you earlier, there is not a bad sightline from wherever you sit. This is one of the best.  I always like to sit in the upper deck whenever I go to a visiting ballpark, and even at Comerica Park. I enjoy seeing skyline views and a view of the game from high above it all. 

This year is the sesquicentennial (150 years) of baseball and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are marking the occasion by having numerous events throughout the season. These two tile pictures are pretty neat. 

When leaving the park after the game, I noticed the public bike share station. Bike stations are popular nationwide, as well as Bird, Lime and Spin scooters. 

What's Old is New Again

Sorry for the delay in writing, I have been quite busy with personal issues that needed to be handled. While I was out and around, I ran across this bottle of Jean Nate' at CVS. I immediately thought of my grandmother, who used to wear it back in the 1990's. It seems, now and past years, that whenever we go forward in time, we seem to step 20 years into the past. In the 2010s, we seem to have gone back to the 1990s. In the decade of 2000-2009, we went to the '80s with music, fashions to a point, and other different areas. Same with the '70s in the '90s, the '60s in the '80s, and the '50s in the '70s. It's the "One step forward, two steps back" type of viewpoint, or "One decade forward, two decades back". The yearning for the past is understandable, when modern life gets a bit complicated, people want to look back to the days when life was at least a bit simpler, back to when you were a kid, teenager or young adult.

Innovative Robots

When I was at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month, I encountered Candace the Robot at AAA Michigan's booth on the main thoroughfare of the show. Candace was an interactive robot that could dance, talk about Insurance info from AAA, and even take a selfie with you. It is amazing what a robot can do nowadays. I found her so fascinating, that I stopped by twice to see her. She could even look at my camera as I took her picture. This reminded me of an advanced version of another robot I remember seeing at the Volkswagen Auto Show in a previous year, who just had a stick-like camera attached to wheels and could talk to you. 

 

CarTunes on Parade

While going through some old pictures from the past, I ran across these pictures from the summer of 2005. These are the "CarTunes on Parade" which were placed around downtown and midtown Detroit, partially for the Major League Baseball All Star Game, which was held at Comerica Park. The pictures I have selected are a few of my favorites. The first car pictured is my favorite of all the cars. This was at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Elizabeth, near Comerica Park. I liked this car, because the Tigers were (and still are) my favorite baseball team, and I enjoy seeing them play. The second car is called  "Small Business", and was located at One Woodward Avenue. It is reminiscent of any small business owner, and their drive to own and operate a successful business. I like seeing the flames and record player on this car, as it takes "Fire Power" to keep your business running smooth like a record

This car is the Motown tribute car, located at Woodward and Larned, with many of the old motown acts from the 1960s and '70. The car had the likes of The Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Four Tops, the Temptations, The Jackson Five, and many more. 

This Transformer type CarTune was another favorite. This was located at Campus Martius Park, and was taken at the Detroit Jazz Festival. This is a favorite because of it's action figure design, and futuristic elements. 

The Yellow Submarine car , located at Hart Plaza near the Ampitheatre, was another of my favorites. The octopus looks like it is hitching a ride with this gentleman, who is thoroughly shocked and intimidated by it 

Oh my HoJo!

As I am going through some of my late grandmother's items, I run across this folder from the Howard Johnson chain of hotels. The folder was from the Chattanooga, TN HoJo, which is now a La Quinta Hotel. She was in Chattanooga to visit her sister, my great-aunt, who lived in Tennessee at the time. I became interested in the history of Howard Johnson, both the hotels and the restaurants (one was located in Highland Park, Michigan, at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and California, next to what is now Highland Park City Hall). According to the site  HoJoLand, one Howard D. Johnson was in debt after his father's passing. He had taken over a pharmacy and ice cream parlor in Quincy, Massachusetts in the late 1920s. His restaurants grew and grew, and he even gave food to the troops during the second World War.  In the 1970s, there were around 500 hotels with the Howard Johnson name. As of 2019, there is only one surviving Howard Johnson restaurant in Lake George, New York. I find this folder interesting, as you do not see these types of folders in many hotels anymore, except for when you might need some local attractions during your stay. You still have phone directories, glasses and an ice bucket for your cold drink of water or whatever beverage you prefer, a Gideons Bible or New Testament in the nightstand drawer, or a local tourism magazine/ My favorite part of this folder is the postcards and the questionnaire. There was even an old application for an American Express money card, which someone could use during their stay or eat at  at any Howard Johnson Motor Lodge or restaurant across the country. Doubt that the card or application could be used today, at over 40 years old. 

YouTube Friday: Ed Butowsky in ESPN's 30 for 30 - Broke Montage

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2019 is going well so far. For the first YouTube Friday video of the year, I have selected this video from Ed Butowsky's YouTube channel. The documentary this comes from, titled Broke,  is one of the "30 for 30" series that was originally on ESPN some years ago. I always say that all sports leagues should make the documentary required viewing at rookie orientation, as well as at preseason/postseason meetings,  when they get to the topic of financial literacy and how to (and not to) spend your money, as well as colleges, where there are young men and ladies thinking about going professional in sports. I think that people can learn from others who have lived through this experience or have worked with people who have gone broke.